Modi govt to recover Rs 18 cr fine from Asaram’s Surat ashram

Mangalore Today/CNN-IBN

Surat, Sept 3: It’s a double whammy for Asaram who is facing a tough time following allegations of sexually assaulting a minor girl. While he has already been sent to jail for 14 days in the case, now the self-styled godman is facing trouble over an alleged land encroachment case in Gujarat’s Surat.

The Gujarat government on Monday has moved to levy a Rs 18 crore fine on Asaram’s Jahangirpura Ashram in Surat. The self-styled godman has been accused of encroaching on land which was reserved for a water harvesting project.

 

Asaram has allegedly encroached a 34,000 sq metre land in Surat’s Jahangirpura for his ashram. The Surat collector has now moved to slap a fine of Rs 18 crore on Asaram. Asaram has been fined for not paying rent to the Gujarat government for the period between 1996 and 2010.

Before his arrest, Asaram was effusive in his praise for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. But that didn’t deter Modi from ordering to re-open old cases against the ’godman’.

"I don’t call Modi ’Namo’, I call him ’Malll’ (warrior). Despite strong opposition for 10 years, Modi has stood his ground. Had there been anyone else, he wouldn’t have survived," Asaram had said.

This is not the first time that Asaram has had a run-in with the civic agencies. Earlier, Asaram’s ashrams in Ahmedabad and Pedmala and Bhairvi villages were demolished for encroaching on government land. With the Gujarat government seeking details about Asaram’s 40 ashrams , it is clear that more trouble awaits the self-styled godman.